Non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm Caging in Synthetic Dimensions with a Trapped Ion

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the experimental realization of non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm caging in a synthetic lattice using a trapped ion, revealing unique quantum dynamics and expanding the understanding of gauge field effects in quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces a method to engineer tunable non-Abelian gauge fields in a trapped ion system and observes non-Abelian AB caging phenomena.

Findings

Observation of AB caging under non-Abelian gauge fields

Detection of initial-state-dependent quantum dynamics

Identification of asymmetric caging behavior

Abstract

Aharonov-Bohm (AB) caging is a complete localization phenomenon in two-dimensional lattices due to destructive interference induced by the background gauge fields. However, current investigations of AB caging are mostly restricted to the Abelian gauge field case, and the observation of AB caging under non-Abelian gauge fields in a quantum system still remains elusive. Here, we report experimental realization of tunable synthetic non-Abelian SU(2) gauge fields in a rhombic lattice, engineered within the synthetic dimensions of a vibrating trapped ion with multiple levels. We realize AB caging under both Abelian and non-Abelian gauge fields and systematically investigate the distinctive transport properties of the non-Abelian case. In particular, we observe typical emergent quantum dynamics unique to non-Abelian AB caging, including initial-state-dependent dynamics, second-order effects, and asymmetric caging behavior. These observations demonstrate the trapped ion system as a powerful platform for simulating emergent phenomena in high-dimensional quantum systems with exotic synthetic gauge fields.